All Frontiers Are Jealous

by L. Ron Hubbard

A charming rogue cut from the same cloth as Robert Mitchum, American engineer Dan Courtney is learning fast that it takes more than a little charm to lay the groundwork for a railroad. Particularly when the plan is to build it across some of the roughest and most dangerous territory on earth.

Courtney’s been hired to survey the land that would link up the Uganda Railway to the Anglo-Egyptian railroad. Running through desert, jungle and mountains, this is one line—and story—with more twists and turns than the New York City subway system.

Diamond smugglers. A fearsome native tribe. A beautiful young American woman . . . and a man determined to kill her. Put them all together and you’ve got a world where All Frontiers Are Jealous. It’s up to Courtney to tame those frontiers—take on the tribe, save the woman, and save the future of the railroad . . . before his blood ends up on the tracks.

“Terrific from beginning to end.” —Midwest Book Review

Paperback

First published June 1, 1937

About the author

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 350 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most enduring and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and '40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard. Then too, of course, there is all L. Ron Hubbard represents as the Founder of Dianetics and Scientology and thus the only major religion born in the 20th century.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[James Mourgos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting pulp fiction by Hubbard; I don't recall ever reading the adventures of Africa, except for the movie "Zulu" many years ago.

A man who lets nothing stop him in getting a railroad from one country to another, to open a route through the Nile, is met by a lovely blonde, two characters who want him to fail, and a tribe of cannibals who would like nothing better than to make him their next meal.

Slow start, but a fun read. Even though these stories are over 60 years old, there is a cadence, a rhythm to them that keep even a modern readers' interest.

Recommended.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent yarn by an excellent paperback writer. Filled with excellent suspense, general action, and characters. The portrayal of the Dinka in this story is surprisingly nuanced and three-dimensional, avoiding many of the pitfalls of the contemporary African story. A great piece of pulp with a good story.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't understand where the title came from, but this is a good typical pulp African adventure from the 1930's. There are typically racist attitudes displayed, so anyone offended by Falk's Phantom or E.R. Burroughs should avoid this one. There's a neat feminist twist in which the damsel in distress who was rescued by the hero turns the tables and rescues him from captivity, a sort of unusual thing for its day. This is one of the handsome Galaxy Press uniform editions of Hubbard's pulp work with a helpful glossary and the original magazine illustrations.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun pulp novel about the adventures of a railroad surveyor in North Africa.